A new beginning to an End
by Ritter Sport
Summary: What if everything was a lie. That Anna was in reality not Yoh's fiance but just the simple fearsome itako. That the whole lie was planned by Kino-sensei as to just get Yoh to train. Now that everything is done, it's time for Anna to return home and say g
1. Gone

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I recently just fell in love with Shaman King and I just can't stop reading Yoh/Anna fanfics. *Sigh* I am totally addicted to that couple. ^__^ *sigh* So I really wanted to give it a try and do one myself. Since I have never done a Mankin (I recently learned that word...I before I thought it meant 'Manta' in a twisted way...But alas, My slow mind finally depicted the words! haha!) fic...so this will be my first try. So please cut me some slack! >_ 

I must admit, I am just a humble, crossover author from the Sailor Moon dimention...*sigh* dont hit me or anything...^_^ And if you look at my profile, you'll only se Harry Potter and Sailor Moon...I am so twisted...Mwahaha! And did I mention that I am currently suffering from back to school blues??? And a severe case of 'depression'? (I have found out that with the case that I have, my only outlet would be writing and talking to friends over the internet...aka talking to complete strangers...>_ 

I warn all of you! I have not read a complete manga of Mankin, nor did I finish Mankin anime...since the anime is currently still running here in the Philippines...so, I have not yet finished. HOWEVER! I have read all episodes over the internet! (Bless the internet!) And I basically got the general concept of the 'what-so-evers' of Shaman King. And I am totally in love with Horohoro! Wai! Wonderful Bishie material! *sigh*

So...Maybe I'll get great feed back here as I did in my other stories! And I hope all of you will enjoy this fic...I hope...so to all of you...I give...my first ManKin fic! Wai!

Note: Ano, the time frame would be a year after! So everyone would be one year older, Yoh, Anna and etc... would be 14 and etc...>_ 

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Disclaimer: I own none of the mentioned Characters. Shaman King does not belong to me!

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    Chapter 1 _"Gone..."_

Silence filled the Asakura household, signaling that something was seriously wrong. Usually on an late evening like this, the house would be bustling with life. Howeve things were seriously different. An eerie silence filled the whole grounds of the compound.

On the inside of the silent house, 14 year old Manta eyed the silent Yoh, silently contemplating on how to lighten up the mood. His eyes shifted from the silent Yoh, to the frowning Ice Shaman and his crying sister to the hysterically crying Ryu and to the silent Tamao. Soon his gaze fell onto the sinngle sheet of white paper that lay innocently on the dinning table. _'Funny, how one letter can change everything,'_ he mused.

A grieving Amidamaru silently hovered near Yoh, hoping that his master would at least show some amount of emotion. Sighing softly upon seeing only the blank look on his master's face, his gaze quickly shifted towards the letter._'Why...'_

"Maybe it's just a joke...a test perhaps..." mumbled Horohoro, breaking the heavy silence. His voice was heavy, totally unconvincing. It caused another loud sob from his sister Pirika. Kororo made a faint 'epping' sound on her shoulder, most likely a cry.

"Miss Anna doesn't do jokes..." whispered Tamao sadly. She looked up from her seating position on the floor and eyed the silent Yoh. She wondered what might be going on in the young Shaman's mind. Her eyes feel onto the open letter infront of her and her palms clenched into fist at the sheer absurdity of it all. _'It just can't be! How heartless can one person get?!'_ she thought bitterly as several tears dropped onto her fists. The open letter just taunted all occupants in the room._'How could she?'_

"Perhaps..."

Horohoro was never given the chance to finish his next assumption, as the front door burst open and a enraged Ren stomped into the room. He was closely followed by Bason, who hovered next to him. "Ok! I get called in the middle of dinner, about something seriously wrong and emergency...so, what the hell is going on?!"

"It's beef stew night..." whispered Bason to Amidamaru, who sweat dropped in return.

A laugh escaped Yoh's lips as he heard Bason's comment. He looked up and gave the fumming Ren an apologetic smile. "Sorry, if we disturbed you," he said, a silly grin plastered on his face.

"Master Yoh..." whispered Amidamaru in disbelief as he watched Yoh sheepishly scratch his head and grin goofily at the fumming Chinese Shaman.

Ren's eye brow began to twitch dangerously, "You mean nothing's wrong?!" he snapped. The room quickly was once again filled with heavy silence. He finally noticed, Prikia's soft sobs and Ryu's hysterical cries. He watched Yoh's goofy smile slowly disappear and a blank look soon replaced his features. Yoh quickly bowed his head. "What?!"

"You see..." began Manta but quickly was cut off by Ren who spoke up again.

"Wait a minute! Where's the itako, Anna?" asked Ren, finally noticing the itako missing. At the mention of Anna's name, Pirika burst into louder tears once again.

Yoh stood up and smiled sadly at Ren, "She's gone..." he whispered, and quickly left the room.

"Master Yoh..." mumbled Amidamaru as he watched his master disappear up the stairs, most likely to go up to his room.

"What do you mean she's gone?! Isn't she his finacée or not?! What do you mean gone?! What the hell is going on?!" shouted Ren after regsitering what Yoh had said. 

"She just left. Just like that..." answered Manta. He let out a soft sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "When Yoh and I came from the store, she was already gone. She only left a note.."

"Note?" repeated Ren, not quite understanding what the reason was as to why the young itako left.

"Why would she leave?" questioned Bason.

"So...the problem is?" asked Ren, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't all of you be at least one inch happy to have that--that...slave-driver gone?"

Ryu stood up abruptly and sniffed loudly. "Miss Anna brought greatness to all of us! She thought all of us to be strong and efficient Shamans! Master Yoh would never have become Shaman King without her trainings!" he exclaimed loudly, while huge waterfalls of tears flowed from his eyes. "She is greatly missed!"

"..."

Tamao sighed softly once again and picked up the letter from the table. "What worries all of us are the feelings of Yoh-sama. Her letter held some startling revelations that were quite shocking..." she said in a soft voice. She walked up to Ren and handed him the note. _'She's so heartless...'_ added the pink haired girl mentally, walking back to her spot by the table and sitting back down.

Ren took the white paper and eyed Tamao skeptically before gazing down at the letter. Bason hovered over his shoulder and tried to see what was written. Ren's eyes grew wide as he slowly read the note.
    
    _Yoh,
    By the time you read this I am long gone. Over the past year, you have
    grown into the Shaman your family has invisioned you to be. And all this through
    the hard training you endured through me. I assure you that the whole Asakura clan
    is proud of you.
    
    Now that things are done and no work is left for me, it is time for me to say
    good-bye to you. The truth shall finally be revealed for you. Perhaps on what I am
    about to impart on you might be something you would rejoice on upon. I was never
    intended to be your future wife. The engagement that Kino-sensei had set upon us was
    a simple plan for you to strive hard to become a great Shaman King. I was just a simple
    tool, there to train you. Kino-sensei knew that you would never train if no one would
    push you and give you a reason to fight. So I served your grandmother and did as I was
    told.
    As said, the engagement was never real. And now, you are free to chose whatever
    girl you wish to marry. There is no need for you or any of your friends to try to find
    me. I don't want to be found. And with this, I bid you great happiness. You are all
    free from me now. Good-bye Yoh...
    -Anna_

Ren folded the paper after reading and placed it back on the table. "So..." he began, now not quite sure of what to make of the whole situation. Sure, it was a nice thought to have the fearsome itako gone and no one would be on their back constantly barking out orders. And again it was a **nice** thought. The reality of the whole situation gave it a whole new perspective. Mainly Yoh's feelings. Something that everybody was quite sure of that Yoh had certain kind of feelings for the itako.

"Miss Anna has no wishes to be found. We should respect her descion." said Amidamaru thoughtfully.

Tamao stood up and glared at the spirit. "But what about Yoh-san?" she exclaimed loudly. "Anna-san had no right to just go away like that!"

"Iie," said Manta. "It was Yoh's grandmother's decision. Anna never really had any choice. She is her student. She did have to follow what Yoh's grandmother told her."

"Bu-but!"

"Tamao-chan, there's nothing we can do." said Horohoro finally getting frustrated. "It really sucks to see Yoh all down and sad. But there is little to nothing we can do! Anna-san left, she was supposed to leave. We can't do nothing!"

Tamao looked down and gave a soft sigh. "I know..." she whispered softly. Looking up the staircase, her eyes clouded over with concern. _'Yoh-san...please don't be sad...'_

~Upstairs~

Soft moonlight passing through the half-open window, was the only source of light in the darkened room. A lone figure slid the doors closed making little noise. A soft sigh could be heard coming from the person. Eyeing the near empty room, his eyes feel onto the neatly made futon.

_'Why did you have to go?'_

Passing the stream of moonlight, Yoh walked up to the futon that lay near the window. Kneeling down next to it, he sat down and eyed it blankly. Reaching out, he touched it imagining its owner were there.

"Anna..."

A feeling of emptiness and sadness swept over him, something he rarely ever felt. He soon realized that the itako would not be coming back. And a pang of pain engulfed him. _'I want you back...'_ His hands clutched the grey blanket tightly, as he bowed his head and his shoulders began to shake slightly. Small droplets hit his fist and the blanket.

_'I need you'_

The thought of having the itako no longer at his side seemed to scare him. She meant everything to him. She was everything to him. She gave him the will to fight, the strength and the determination. She was his other half. He didn't care if everything was a lie, that the engagement was not true. He just wanted Anna. Only her.

_'Come back...please...'_

Pulling the blanket off the futon, Yoh silently lay down on the futon and pulled the covers back up to his shoulders. The familiar scent of roses envaded his senses. Closing his eyes slowly, he began to drift off to sleep. Pain and saddness filling his heart as he slowly dreamt about the itako.

_'Anna...I love you...'_

~Somewhere else in Japan~

"All passengers bound to Aomori please get your belongings ready. In several minutes we will be arriving at Aomori Train Station. Thank you,"

A lone passenger looked up from her reading as the conductor made the announcement over the intercom. She closed the novel and placed it back into her bag. Sitting alone in the compartment, she stared out the window with a cool expression. The world outside was dark as night fell, they passed trees and fields of grass.

Her expression grew bored after a minute or so of just staring out. Soon her thoughts began to wander to the life she left behind in Tokyo. _'Yoh'_

Anna let out a soft sigh. Even though she was told to never get attached to the grandson of Kino-sensei, she couldn't help but feel lost. Now that her task of making Yoh a great shaman is completed, there was nothing left for her. It was time for her to head back home and leave everything behind.

Kino-sensei had simply instructed the itako to act as Yoh's 'fiancée' and make him train hard, which of course he did. Being told that she were just a tool in order for them to attain their dream of making the lazy Yoh a great shaman, Anna agreed with the task. Of course she was perfect for the job. Fearless, emotionless and fearsome. She would never grow attached with Yoh. Never.

How wrong they were. Though possessing a core of ice and an emotionless mask, Anna soon learned to care for the lazy boy. Which she barely ever showed. Barely. Now that she was leaving him, a feeling of familiar loneliness overwhelmed her. Something she learned to ignore for so long. As an itako, she was thought to keep all emotions in check. The only thing she ever learned to feel was pain and saddness. Something she learned from so long ago from her childhood. Yet over the time she spent with Yoh, a small fire seemed to rekindle. And now she wished she never left...

_'It's for the best...'_

The train slowly came to a stop as it entered the station of Aomori. Standing up in a fluid motion, she slung her usual handbag over her right shoulder and taking a small grey suit case into her left hand. Anna made her way out of the train, being the only passenger that late evening.

A cold night breeze hit her shoulders and she cursed herself for packing her coat into her suit case instead of wearing it. Her red bandana around her neck billowed in the wind and her prayer beads rustled as the wind picked around them. She surveyed the empty station and again cursed mentally. She watched as the train began to move suddenly and then slowly move out the station, heading to what ever next destination.

Frowning in annoyance, Anna set her suitcase down on the marble floor and crossed her arms. She eyed the entrance of the station with an expression of pure annoyance. After several more minutes of nothingness, a figure came running into view. She watched him racing down the stairs of the station and stopping momentarily at the foot to catch his breath. A spirit hovered nearby the young man. Her eyes narrowed down into angry slits as she watched the teen speak softly to the spirit, who in turn pointed at her. The young man turned around and waved at her and quickly approached her, spirit not far behind.

"Anna!" The teen came into view. A young handsome young man with black eyes and dar blonde hair, several shades darker than her own. Dressed in jeans and a shirt with a blue jacket over his shoulder, he bowed at her. A small smile spread across his lips as he stared down at the younger girl. 

Anna nodded her head in return and briskly walked past the older boy without much word. Ignoring the floating Samurai spirit, she quickly walked towards the exits. She let the older boy take her suit case and turned around.

"Hurry up Onii-san, it's getting cold,"

~*~*~

>_ 

So, yes. Anna has an older brother! Err, that is pretty much made up! But I have not knowledge whatsoever about Anna's past. Nothing, so I am making this up. But if there is anything mentioned about Anna's past in the Manga or Anime, PLEASE **tell me!** I really need to know! I do hope you guys enjoyed this fic. Also, did I do the japanese word for older brother correct? If not please tell me! And, can somebody tell me what the japanese word for 'little sister' is? ^_^ I really wanna know!

Oh yeah! I gotta know, about the schooling system in Japan! How long do they go to high school? At what age do they reach their senior year? At 18? How old are the seniors anyway? You gotta tell me guys! It's important for the fic! >_ 

So, Umm, please if you review...please be gentle...lol. Take it easy on me and dont tear me apart just yet. Cause I promise you people that it'll get better by the next chapters! Really better! So I am open for any ideas you guys want! So tell me what you think!

And oh! Yeah! Do you guys want Hao to come back? Do you want him back into the picture? Just tell me! Put it in your review! If you got any ideas, then tell me through reviews or e-mails!

ja ne!

Elisabeth

PS: I am using html for the first time...I am so excited! ^_^; *sigh* I know, I'm so _Pathetic..._


	2. Faded Memories

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Ah, thank you so much for those wonderful reviews! It meant a lot for me! ^_^ I feel so happy! *Grins* I felt so loved...-_-; Thanx...For a first ManKin fic, I guess I did fairly weel for the first chapter...It never really crossed my mind that this kind of plot is used for the first time! Wai! I'm so cool....*Sweatdrop* err, sorry, I exagerated. ^___^ But anyways thank you so much!

I want to thank Bratty-san, for the wonderful link. Ah! Without it I would still be very clueless...So all hail Bratty! *hails* And also thank you to da*mouse...wai! I love your fics...and your site! Whhaa! Wonderful...! Also to Jess-chan! Ah! your e-mail...thank you so much _Kababayan!_ Also, thank you so much to all the others who reviews! Kabayan! Moonwind! ^__^

A little **ramble**: Ah, I know that it seemed highly unlikely that anna would have an older brother...but still...it would be kinda cool wouldn't it? So, please dont give me reviews saying that it would be unlikely that she has a older brother. This is fictious right? So, umm, yeah, in my fic Anna has a older brother...^_^. I find it cool...^_^ So, there!-_-; gomen. 

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Disclaimer: I do **not** own Shaman King. I only own this humble plot...^_^

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    Chapter 2 _"Faded Memories"_

_~Flashback~_

_"She's an itako!" yelled the man angrily, pointing a finger accusingly at the 3-year old blonde girl. "An itako!"_

_"It can't be!" cried an older woman, pulling her 5-year old son to her side protectively._

_Both parents watched in shock as their young daughter giggled softly and played with the spirit of a child. Oblivious to the reactions of her parents, she said some incoherent words and another child spirit appeared before them. Together the two child spirits giggled and flew around the giggling blonde._

_"Dishonor!"_

_The cry of the father caused the two child spirits to stop their flying and stare in shock as the older Shaman pulled out two magic papers and threw them. Immediately both spirits disappeared. The young girl broke down crying as she watched the spirits' souls perish._

_There was a loud slap of flesh that rang in the air, quickly followed by a loud wail of pain._

_The young girl lay on the floor sobbing loudly as the father towered over her, hand still in the air ready to strike once again. Thunder and lightning screamed outside the home, making the windows shake loudly. Muffled cries could be heard from the mother as she fell to her knees and hugged her older son and watched her husband scream at the young girl._

_"Dishonor!" he repeated more loudly this time, grabbing the girl by the neck of her kimono and pulling her to her feet. He eyed her vehemently in disgust._

_"O-otou-san..."_

_Another slap rang through the air and lightning struck outside, illuminating the whole room. And another loud wail of pain escaped the young girl's lips. "t-tou-san..."_

_Ignoring the child's red tear stained face, the elder Shaman showed no mercy to his child. Kneeling down on the floor to the child's level, her grabbed her by her shoulders roughly and ignored her cries of pain. "You are supposed to be a miko...like your mother!" he yelled, shaking her roughly like a rag doll. "You have dishonored our family name!"_

_It was rare to see the father enraged and angered at his youngest child. It was always Touya who would get scolded for doing mishief and wreaking several ornaments in the shrine, along with his samurai spirit Kagetsu. However, the young girl showed signs of being an itako...something the father not other never expected. Touya watched in horror as his father began to slap his sister prefusively. He felt his mother shudder and he instictively hugged her tighter, causing her to let out another loud sob._

_"T-t-tou-san...o-onegai...s-stop..." cried out the young girl in pain as another slap came to her face._

_"Hoshiro, perhaps there is still a way..." whispered the mother in between sobs while still hugging her son._

_The father's eyes narrowed down into slits and threw the sobbing child onto the wooden floor of their shrine. His breathing was labored and stared down at his youngest child in disgust. "She was supposed to be a great miko like you, Yume! All of the women in our families were great mikos! She brings dishonor to our family!" he spat out angrily. Hearing the girl's loud cries of pain, his glare intensified. "Once she shows signs of an itako...she will be an itako...disgusting."_

_The mother gasped loudly and began to sob uncontrollably. Lightning flashed outside the window, as the father moved to the side of the room and pulled out a long black whip. Touya's eyes widened. "Tou-san..."_

_The young girl pulled her bruised face off the ground and watched in sheer horror as her father pulled out the whip from its usual hiding place. Her eyes widened in fear as he approached her and grabbed her by the neck of her kimono. "Tou-san..." she cried._

_"Punishment..." growled the father as he slowly pulled the young girl towards a spare room._

_The mother let out a loud cry and fell to the ground sobbing loudly as the doors of the room slid shut. Touya stood in the middle of the room staring at the doors in disbelief. Soon loud whipping sounds could be heard throughout the shrine followed by loud screams of pain as thunder would strike. His black eyes widened in horror._

_"Anna!"_

_~_

_Asakura Kino eyed the silent blonde girl with interest. No emotions, no feelings, no nothing. Just pain and a void of darkness was all that filled the girl's startling coal black eyes. A cold aura surrounded the 5 year old._

_"What do you want?"_

_"To be strong," answered Anna simply._

_Kino stared at the young girl, "You already are strong," she commented. "Why are you here?"_

_"I have been disowned,"_

_Kino's eyes widened slightly however no other emotions appeared on the old woman's face. Nodding her head in understanding. "An itako must keep emotions in check,"_

_There was no change of facial expression on the young girl's face and she stared at the old woman cooly. "I can do that,"_

_Once again nodding her head in understanding, the old woman turned around and walked inside the old temple. "Follow me,"_

_~_

_"You are by far the most greatest student I have ever taught," commented Kino wisely, staring at her student._

_The 10-year old itako stood silently in the middle of the huge courtyard and held her prayerbeads. An emotionless mask was etched on her face as she watched her sensei. "thank you,"_

_The young girl's words seemed as cold as the wind as they echoed through the night. Over the 5 years of training and teaching the young girl to be a powerful itako, she never did change her icy demeanor. Kino eyed the girl wearily. Anna's bitterness would cause her own downfall. She would be perfect at the task at hand._

_"I want you to be my grandson's fiancée" her words were blunt and simple._

_The girl raised an delicate eyebrow while placing her beads back around her neck. "May I asky for what reason?"_

_Kino nodded, "My husband is training him. Yoh does not show any interests in his training. He is a lazy kid who does practically nothing but listen to his music. My husband lost his patience with the boy,"_

_Anna nodded, "Of course,"_

_"You have been fully trained to be an itako. Your powers surpass even those much older than I am. I am greatly astounded by your abilities. You have proven yourself and to everybody that you are powerful..." said Kino, as darkness slowly creeped around them. "There is nothing more I can teach you. The rest you must learn on your own."_

_Anna watched her sensei silently. Not one trace of emotion flickered across her face. "I see"_

_"You would be perfect for my grandson. You possess no emotions that would hinder you. The pain and coldness in your heart would be a great asset in making my grandson the next Shaman King." said her sensei, again talking about the engagement. "You feel nothing for others and you see yourself much more greater than the others. Your mask hides everything that has been built up inside you for over the years. If you continue that way...you will fall sooner or later,"_

_"..." Thunder boomed in the background and dark clouds of rain loomed over them._

_"Even though you learned everything perfectly from me. Even though you did everything a hundered times better than expected. Even though you could be at times more powerful than myself. I see that you sill did not learn one thing from me." Kino eyed her student wearily._

_"..." The first raindrops fell onto the ground._

_"To feel again," whispered Kino finally. The lightning flashed accross the sky and the rain pelted down on the two of them, drenching them immediately._

_"I came here to prove myself," answered Anna finally. "I did not come here to rekindle feelings that would only cause a hard life. Feelings only hinder one to greatness,"_

_Thunder boomed once more and lightning flashed nearby. Kino watched her student bow in respect at her before swiftly disappearing into the safety of the temple. Standing alone in the temple's courtyard, drenched and cold, she eyed the door that her sudent disappeared through. "Anger and pain feeds off your powers. It will cause your strengths to weaken and you will lose everything."_

_~_

_The train station was completely empty by the time that Kino and Anna arrived. They were most likely the only people that would board the train that night. An eerie silence filled the station as student and teacher silently awaited the arrival of the train._

_"About the engagement," said Kino turning to Anna. "It is not real,"_

_Anna nodded in understanding. "Of course,"_

_"You will only serve as a tool for all of us. Consider this as a great honor that you are helping out the whole Asakura clan. You shall only serve as to make Yoh train hard for the Shaman Fight." said Kino, eyeing her student. Upon receiving no protest she continued, "Yoh will learn to work hard now, since he would have you as his fiancée."_

_Anna nodded, understanding her position in the whole situation. Though one thing still was not clear to her. "Why me?"_

_Kino stopped doing what ever she was attengin to and eyed her student. She contemplated on what to answer. The truth. "Because you have no feelings..." The answer was simple, yet it puzzeled her why her student did not know._

_"Of course," whispered Anna with her usual cool expression._

_"I know you would show no mercy nor pity to Yoh when it comes to train him. You would show him what his tasks are. I know only you possess those abilities to 'tame' my grandson." said Kino thoughtfully. She cleared her throat slightly and stared at her student. "Also, I want my grandson to fall in love,"_

_Anna's eyes narrowed down into slits and she eyed her sensei skeptically. "What?"_

_Kino nodded her head thoughfully and stared straight ahead, looking at particularly nothing. "I know Yoh would easily accept the fact that he is betrothed. I know he will respect you and follow everything you will say. But when the time comes, I do want to have him fall in love on his own." she said. In the far background, a trains whistle could be heard. "That's why I have arranged everything to be a false engagement. Thus, when the time comes that Yoh is finally the strong Shaman he should be, I want you to leave." Her instructions and plans were simple, a sure thing that nothing would go wrong. "After you leave, it will open the door of opportunity and give him the chance to find his suitable partner in life."_

_Anna once again nodded her head in unerstanding. "I see,"_

_The train slowly entered the train station and stopped before the two. As the door opened, allowing them to enter, Kino turned around one last time and stared at her student with a serious expression. "Bare in mind, everything is false. So don't fall in love with him,"_

_~_

_13-year old Kyouyama Anna watched as her 'fiancée' disappeared around the corner for his daily 50 km. jog with his friend Manta. Everything was turning out smoothly. Kino-sensei was right, Yoh did follow everything she said. It would be no time at all before he would be Shaman King and she would leave. Something she wished would never happen...._

_"What do you want?" she asked as she sat down on the porch. She stared blankly at the empty courtyard and waited for the addressed to appear. A young teen stepped out from behind the shadows of the oak tree, accompanied by his power spirit._

_15-year old Kyouyama Touya smiled sadly at his sister and bowed in greeting. "Imouto,"_

_His spirit Kagetsu too bowed in greeting and offered her a small smile, "Anna-san,"_

_Eyeing her brother wearily she meerly nodded in response. It has been years since she last saw him. 8 years to be exact, and still he was the only family member who never looked at her differently, aside from their grandfather. "Onii-san,"_

_"It's been a while, ne?" commented Touya, with a thoughtful expression. "May I sit?"_

_"Hai," Anna moved slightly to the right giving him some space next to her on the portch. She watched him remove the samurai sword around his waist and place it next to him as he sat down next to her. Both shared a minute or so of silence, staring at the empty courtyard._

_"So, he's your fiancée hmmm?" asked Touya, still staring at the courtyard._

_"Hai, but for not long," answered Anna, a soft breeze began to play with her hair. "He wont need me later,"_

_"Ah, I see," mumbled Touya, nodding his head in understanding. "So he's strong,"_

_"Hai, he gets it from his friends," said Anna._

_"I wont be joining the Shaman Fight,"_

_Anna stared at her brother for a second before nodding in understanding. "I understand,"_

_Silence once again dropped onto them as both were quite busy staring at particularly nothing. Kagetsu silently hovered nearby, staring at the whole situation. A soft wind played with their hair as both remained silent._

_"They are dead," whispered Touya._

_Anna nodded her head in understanding. "I know, I felt them leave," she murmured._

_"I'm sorry," whispered Touya sadly, bowing his head. "For all the pain they caused. If only..."_

_"Iie," mumbled Anna. "Otousan and Okasan did what they did. There is nothing you could've done. We were just children back then. Even so, if you could've done anything it wouldn't have changed the fact that I am an itako. A strong, powefrul itako. I was disowned because of who I am. I accept their decision."_

_"You changed so much, tou-chan," commented Touya._

_"Perhaps,"_

_ "Yoh is coming back," informed Kagetsu, staring at the siblings._

_Anna stood up and eyed her brother, "You should go,"_

_Nodding in agreement, Touya quickly picked up his sword and reattached it to his belt. Turning to his sister, "Ojisan moved back into the temple. He's taking care of me now. He sends you his greetings. He would have come...but, his back is not what it used to be," he said, a small smile playing on his lips._

_Anna nodded, "Give him my greetings then," she said._

_"Are you going to pay respects to Tou-san and Ka-san?" asked Touya._

_Anna shrugged, "Someday perhaps,"_

_"I missed you Imotou," whispered Touya as he readied himself to jump up to the rooftop. "See you soon," he said lastly, offering his sister one last smile before jumping onto the roof top and quickly jumping to the next._

_"See you soon Anna-san," said Kagetsu, as he followed his master and dematerialized._

_Anna watched her brother jump from one rooftop to another, until he was out of sight. "I missed you too, Onii-chan..."_

__

~End of Flashback~

Standing at the far end in the backyard of her old home, Anna stared blankly at the two graves of her parents. Dressed only in her sleeping robes, the cold wind made her shiver slightly. To her everything seemed to have passed by like a whirlwind. Only bits and pieces of her past remained.

"I see you kept your promise,"

Anna did not turn to the new comer, instead she just stared blankly at the two graves of her parents. "You should be asleep by now Ojisan,"

The old man chuckled softly and stood next to his granddaughter, he too stared at the graves. "Ah, I could say the same thing to you. You arrived just hours ago, I know the train ride must be tiring." Kyouyama Hosho smiled knowingly at Anna. "I know that everything is still hard to deal with,"

"It's nice that nothing has changed," mumbled Anna, ignoring her grandfather's last comment. "You still speak of nonsense,"

Hosho chuckled heartily, "Ah, yes. And I see that you have changed into a strong young woman."

"I am an itako."

"Of which I am very proud of," praised Hosho, pointing his finger in the air. "You have proven to everybody that you are strong. That you can do it on your own. I am happy,"

Anna nodded in understanding. "Only you and Touya believed in me," she commented. She stared at the graves of her parents for a moment before switching to stare down at her silent ojisan.

"Ah, your parents just thought too much of the family honor. It was very foolish of them to disown you. Something over which I am still very much disappointed of them," said the old man, a frown played on his lips. He looked up at her and and shurgged his shoulders, "So what if the apple fell farther away from the tree than expected?"

"..."

He watched his grandchild remain silent. The emotionless mask, that he was told of by her brother, appeared on her face. It was quite startling for him to see his grandchild possess such a pained aura. He could feel her heavy heart. "The task that Kino-san gave you,"

"It was nothing," said Anna briskly.

Sighing softly, the old man turned around ready to head back inside. "Of course," he said. A cold wind passed by them. "It is better that both of us should get some sleep. It is already very late," he announced, looking up at the dark sky and seeing the full moon.

Anna ignored her grandfather but instead simply stared at the full moon. Remembering the times Yoh had invited her star gazing at the porch back in Tokyo. At the thought of Yoh, her throat seemed to tighten. _'Yoh...Gomen Nasai'_ she thought bitterly. Without her knowledge, a single tear slid down her cheek.

Hosho smiled softly at Anna. "I know it's hard to move on with life, if you left your heart in Tokyo..." he said knowlingly and then slipped into the old house before Anna could react.

Anna watched her grandfather leave. She was sure that he was once again talking randomly absurd things. Shaking her head, she stared back up at the moon.

_'It's funny what you did to me Asakura Yoh. First you saved me from my own darkness and once again lead me to the light. Then you taught me how live again and let everything from the past go. And now that you are a part of my past...I have to let you go...'_

Several more tears rolled down her cheeks. She made no move to wipe them away._'But I dont want to...but I must...'_

Turning from the graves, she silently walked back to into the house. Just before she was about to enter the home, for one final time that night she turned around and looked up at the moon.

_'I miss you Yoh...'_

And with that, the young Itako went inside the home. Letting her past go with a very heavy heart.

~*~*~

^___^ That's it! Chapter 2! *sniff* I can't believe I wrote that! whaa! It's so sad...*sniff* I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter!

If ever I wrote a certain Japanese term wrong...please correct me! Like otousan...is it writen that way or otou-san? *_*? Lol, Kindly help me out a little...Ano, I am right with Ojisan right? It means grandfather? Right?

Anyway! Thank you all for reading! I am off to do my home-torture...er...assignment...*sigh* Gotta go!

By the way...I still need to clarify the age thing for schools. Are the seniors 18 or 17 years old???

About Hao...I have one vote for him to come back and one voite for him to not come back! So...what do you guys want? Come or not? That's the question...So, please mention it in your review!

PLease review! I thank everyody who reviewed the last chapter! 19 reviews...wow! Thank you so much! I can't believe I did so well! So please review! I am open to ideas! Thank you everybody!

Ja ne!

Elisabeth


	3. Promises

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*falls over* I can't believe I got so many reviews! Arigatou! *bows* It means so much to me! Thank you so much! I really appreciate all the reviews! Thank you so much. Ah Bratty and Da*mouse...Thanks so much for your reviews. I actually feel quite honored...^_^

This chapter may be slightly confusing with all the "unkown" thing going on...so bare with me. I am currently suffering from a very bad case of school-blues. (_Bwesit talaga ang eskwela_) And I am totally pissed for the fact that I can't watch Shaman King anymore..._Bwesit and Sched ko...grrr!_. So, *sweatdrop* umm, this chapter really isn't that great. But *waves* don't go yet! Ah! Just read and review!

~*~*~

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King. *sigh* I only own the plot...

~*~*~
    
    Chapter 3 _"Promises"_

~Funbari, Tokyo~ 

"Who are you?!" yelled the 17 year old Yoh angrily, staring at the mysterious boy expectantly. His furyoku was slowly coming to an end and still he had no clue what-so-ever who the mysterious boy was. Another shikigami appeared out of nowhere, and by now he was completely surrounded by the monsters.

Manta screamed loudly as he stood by the sidelines as he watched his friends being attacked by all sides. The former peaceful cemetery was now a complete battleground. "Yoh!"

"Who the hell are you?!" screamed Ren loudly losing his temper more than once that night. After killing off another shikigami, another would appear. It was no use for them to defeat those monsters. The whole situtation was getting too tight.

"Not that I mind the free action and all, but this is getting _way_ out of hand," Muttered Horo Horo more to himself than to anybody else. Soon later, he was sent crashing into a nearby tree. Kororo popped out of his snowboard making a small 'epp' sound. "Way-way-way out of hand," he groaned loudly.

Only minutes ago, the group of 4 were peacefully eating dinner at the Asakura residence when all of the sudden Amidamaru announced that a weird vibe was coming from the main cemetery. All of which was soon affirmed by fellow spirit Bason. Soon after, the four were greeted by a rare sight. A mysterious teen was suking all of the spirits into a large purple urn. Only laughing manically, the teen attacked them with a load full of shikigamis. Needless to say, the trio of Shamans were battered, hurt and cut in more than once places. There seemed to be no hope.

Watching in satisfaction, the mysterious teen ordered several more shikigamis to appear. "Finish them off," he whispered into the cold evening wind, his voice ringing throughout the cemetery. Grinning in triumph, he cradled the urn carefully after having suked up the last remaining spirit and dutifully placed the lid on it. _'Master will be happy,'_

"Where are you taking the spirits?!" yelled Yoh, staring at the stranger over the huge shoulders of the shikigamis while futilely trying to defend himself. A blow to his gut sent him flying across the grass and land right next to his two friends.

The shikigamis had surrounded them. All of them, growling and grunting in anger, had surrounded the three shamans and the midget. On top of the hill, the teen laughed loudly in triumph.

"I'd never known that the legendary Shaman King could be so easily defeated by a load of shikigamis," the teen commented before laughing once again.

Amidamaru appeared, a look of regret appeared on his face. "I am sorry Master Yoh, but I couldn't last any longer,"

A sheepish grin appeared on Yoh's battered face, "Ah, don't worry Amidamaru. I shouldn't have used all my furyoku at once,"

Grunting in pain, Ren leaned heavly on his glaive and eyed their anonymous opponent. Switching his heated gaze to the shikigamis he growled. "It's times like these that make me wish that, that fake fiancée of yours were here,"

Yoh's smile faltered slightly. At the mention of Anna his throat went tight. _'Anna...'_

Horo Horo winced and picked up the beaten Kororo. "Ah, she'd know how to handle these _things_,"

Yoh's smile now was completely was wiped off his face and he blankly eyed the shikigamis. The mention of the long gone itako made everything harder. Even though it had been three long, painful years, she still lingered in his mind. And he still wished she'd return. He still felt lost without her. He wanted Anna.

Manta gulped. The shikigamis were slowly advancing to them. Any second now they'd be dead. Any second...the midget began to cower in fear and tremble. Stepping back slightly, he watched the green colored Shikigami eye him menacingly. His blood went cold. The green shikigami took another huge step forward. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sudden death to happen.

It never did

A gasp was drawn from Yoh and a huge intake of breath was made from Horo Horo. Manta opened his eyes and nearly fainted. One by one, the Shikigamis had magical papers plastered on their foreheads. The papers faintly glowed, before making the shikigamis scream in pain and turn into talismans. Manta, as well as the others, stood there transfixed.

The mysterious teen frowned at the sight of having his shikigamis destroyed. Narrowing his eyes down at the shamans he growled. "Who did this?!"

"Ah, you know, you really should teach your shikigamis to be more watchful," a mysterious voice drifted through the cold evening air.

The teen growled, anger boiling up inside of him. "Who the hell are you?!" he yelled loudly, his grip tightened around the urn protectively. "Show yourself coward!"

A small chuckle could be heard as the cold wind rustled the leaves of the nearby oak tree. Instinctively their attention was fixed on the tree. Or rather, who was perched in the tree.

"Ah, you call me a coward. Where in fact you are the one. You send you shikigamis to destroy others while you stand at the side. How courageous are you?" again, another airy chuckle could be heard.

"Who's he talking to?" mused Horo Horo, scratching his head. "Did the tree send those enchanted papers?"

Ren would have hit the ice shaman on his head, if only his arm would not be injured. Instead he just glared at the Ainu. "No stupid! There's someone in the tree!"

Yoh watched silently, his attention fully drawn to the tree. Or rather to whoever was hidden by the tree. He was sure that, he could feel somebody familiar. _'...Iie...can it be...?'_ His eyes widened in shock as he watched a young man jump out of the tree branches.

"He's a shaman," whispered Ren, his eyes narrowing and eyeing the new arrival. His eyes widened when he saw the powerspirit of a samurai glowing at the guy's sword.

Though still all of his featured remained hidden by the dark shadows, one could clearly see the triumphant smirk appear on the mysterious shaman's face. "Return the spirits,"

A smirk appeared on their opponents face. "What makes yo--"

A slashing sound could be heard, quickly followed by the sound of crashing of the urn. Hundreds of spirits, rose up into the air in freedom. Quickly realizing that danger was not yet over, they all headed to their graves, hiding for cover.

"Whoa," mumbled Yoh in awe staring up at the hill. "He's quick!"

Their opponent growled angrily as he stared directly the new comer. Seeing that he had no other chance to defend himself, he took a step back. His white cloak billowed in the wind and smirk appeared on his face. "Ah, this wont be the last time you will see me," he announced. And with a flourish of his cloak, he disappeared.

Shrugging slightly, the young man returned his sword back into its hilt and allowed his samurai spirit to appear once again. "Well, in that case. We'll be prepared." he said. Turning to his power spirit he grinned. "Won't we Kagetsu?"

The power spirit nodded his head. Smiling in satisfaction the young man turned around and walked back down the hill, heading back to the huge oak three. The wind rustled the leaves of the magnificent tree. The young man and his power spirit disappeared into the shadows of the tree.

Yoh stared at the tree... the familiar presence from earlier was gone. He could have sworn he felt somebody familiar by the tree._'A trick of the mind,'_ he thought bitterly. Staring up the starry night sky, his face grew somber. _'She couldn't...could she?'_

~Next day, Funbari High School~

It was a complete mystery to all of them as to who the young man was, who nearly saved them all last night. And it still remained a mystery of who the teen was who attacked them. And Yoh still couldn't shake away the feeling of familiarity that radiated from their mysterious savior. Whoever he was.

"Ah, Yoh! The juniors would be out a couple more minutes earlier than us at lunch. I told Ren and Prikia to look for a good place to eat lunch this time," announced Horo Horo, turning around in his desk and staring at the shaman. A grin appeared on his face, "Ah, I can't wait for lunch,"

Yoh nodded his head slightly. Soon after he regreted his actions. Though none of them were seriously injured last night, they did receive several wounds and bruises and not to mention cuts. Under their school uniforms, they were heavily bandaged up. Wincing slightly, Yoh stared at the ainu. "Every inch of my body hurts,"

Horo Horo nodded his head in agreement. Though ended up wincing for moving too much. "I think Tamao bound me up too tight," he mumbled. "Do you think she did it on purpose?"

Yoh grinned, "You were the one who insulted her yesterday for having the touch similar of a man while she was bandaging you up. It wouldn't surprise me if she'd completely had cut off your blood circulation,"

Horo Horo sweatdropped. "Ah, well...she did go rough on me!"

"Ah, that's because you insulted her for being too sensitive," commented Manta, walking up to them. He by now was as tall as the common student's desk. Turning to look up at Yoh, his face turned into a worried expression. "Do you have any idea who that guy might have been last night?"

The ice Shaman frowned thoughtfully. "Which guy? There were two that we dont now off...and there was that tree..."

Yoh sweatdropped at Horo Horo's last comment. Turning to look down at Manta, he smiled. "Nah, I have no clue. At least we know that one is on our side, right?"

"How can you be so sure of that?" asked Manta, flailing his arms in reaction. "For all we know he might be faking it all!"

Yoh shook his head in disagreement. He was quite sure of it. The guy who helped them out was a good person. He just got the feeling that he knew the guy from somehwere. Though he never really met him before. However what stirred up his feelings inside of him, was the feeling of the familiar presence. _'Anna...'_ He was sure he must have sensed her somewhere. "Anna..."

Manta and Horo Horo stopped talking as they heard their friend say the one name they had vowed themselves never to say. True, none of the friends never dared to say the itako's name in front of their friend, in fear that it may cause more emotional damages to the young Shaman King. It may have been only 3 long years since the itako had been gone, but still they all could see the change in Yoh. Though he still remained the same laid back, good-hearted Asakura Yoh they had all know before, there was still a huge change in his demeanor. Something that none of them could really explain, though it was quite evident he greatly missed the itako...everybody did.

Yoh however, missed her the most of all. At times he would spend hours in the itako's former room and just sit and do nothing and listen to music. He still trained, however he missed the yells and slaps he would receive from the girl. It just plainly seemed like that a great part of him was missing. He just wants her back. However, they all knew she would never come back. All excpet for Yoh. He still believed, she would come back...someday.

"Yoh?" Horo Horo waved his hand in front of Yoh's blank face. "Hey...Yoh!"

"I wonder how Anna's doing..." mumbled Yoh thoughtfully. Pain briefly flashed in his eyes, however it quickly disappeared and a small smile replaced his features. "Do you think she's happy?" His smile widened and he leaned back in his chair. "I do hope she's happy,"

Manta stared at Yoh in silence, trying to think up something to say. He knew that no matter how much Yoh would look like everything was normal, he still could see the depression in the Shaman's eyes. "Ah...I..."

Having gotten used to Yoh's sudden changing of emotions, Horo Horo simply shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me...I dont think that girl even knows what happiness is..." he said thoughtfully.

Yoh grinned at Horo Horo, "I'm sure Anna's happy..."

Soon their teacher arrived, making everybody in the class quiet down and settle back into their seats. Giving her students a glare to silence them all, she later smiled in satisfaction. Turning to the door she smiled softly, though her smile was slightly hesitant. Yoh looked up sharply as the familiar presence of last night invaded his senses. His eyes widened in surprise.

"We have a new transferee from Aomori High School. She'll be attending her last year here. I hope you will make her feel welcome here." announced their teacher. Excited whispers filled the room as they awaited for the new student to enter. "Would you please enter,"

Yoh's eyes widened in recognition as he watched the new student enter their room. His throat tightened and his heart was ready to jump out of his chest. His fingers curled around the sides of his desk into a tight grip. There dressed in the black skirt and white school blouse and black school blazer with the school's logo, stood Kyouyama Anna. _'Anna!'_

Anna bowed stifly, "Pleased to meet all of you..." her voice rang through the classroom with a chilly ring to it.

The teacher nodded and smiled at the girl. "There's a seat free at the back of the class. By the window over there. Right behind Zami..." she said, pointing at the back of the classroom.

Anna nodded and briskly made her way down the aile without much further word. She passed by a gaping Manta, whom she completely ignored. Ignoring the sets of eyes that came from across the room, she silently sat down behind the blue haired boy called Zami. Hanging her black book bag onto the hook by the side of her desk, she still continued to ignore the sets of eyes. Propping her right elbow onto her desk, she placed her chin into her hand and began to stare straight ahead. It would be a very long day for her.

Yoh watched her the whole time. She had barely changed. Her hair now was just grazing her shoulders and it was quite evident that she had grown into a fine young woman. There she was, his other half just 5 desks away from him. 5 miserably far desk away from his reach. It had been three long years since he had seen her, and now she was back. He was right when he thought that she would come back. His throat went suddenly tight once again when one question ran through his mind.

_'Would she be back for me?'_ the question felt very absurd...

~

The bell rang throughout the school building signaling lunch break. The class of seniors loudly cheered and rose from their seats getting ready to consume their lunches and a nice long break from their torture sessions. Not being able to hide his excitement, and armed with a broad grin Yoh quickly rose from his seat, ready to confront the itako.

His view from the blonde was shielded, as several of his classmates passed by her desk. With his heart in his troath, and a huge grin on his face, Yoh quickly strode across the room. However, as the last student passed by her desk, Anna was already gone. His smile fell and his shoulders slumped. He blankly stared at her empty desk. _'Anna...'_

"Yoh?" murmured Manta, staring up at his best friend.

Horo Horo popped up behind the silent Shaman. A huge grin plastered on his face, "Ah, C'mon Yoh-kun!" he heartily slapped his friend on the back. He completely ignored the fact that Yoh hit the nearby desk face first due to the impact his slap. "Anna-san is back. So, she didn't say Hi or Hello...that's quite typical for a girl out of ice! But Look on the bright side, she's back and you still got after school to talk to her! AND! Tamao made lunch!"

Yoh rubbed his injured head and gave a small grin. "I guess you're right Horo..."

Manta smiled brightly as he watched Horo puff out his chest and comment about being right always. In turn Yoh just sweatdropped at the Ainu's comment. The trio decided to head out for lunch, meeting Ren and the others by the courtyard. Allowing Yoh and Horo Horo to go ahead, Manta suddenly stopped by the door and turned around to stare at Anna's desk. Through Yoh's actions just a while ago, he realized that perhaps this time, everything will turn out right. The midget however frowned in worry. As one though ran through his mind. _'Is she still our friend?'_

"Manta! Hurry up!"

Switching his gaze to the end of the hallway, Manta spotted his two friends ready to descend the flight of stairs. "AH! Wait for me!"

~

Anna watched the trio walk across the lawn of the school and meet up with Ren, Pirika and Tamao under the shade of a huge Sakura tree. She watched them silently from the top of the school's roof top. Leaning slightly at the green railings of the roof, she got a perfect view of everything. A heavy sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the slight breeze. Everything was already too hard for her.

"Anna-san?"

Anna's eyes snapped open and she whirled around and glared at the intruder. Her eyes slightly softened as she saw the familiar ghostly apparition of Kagetsu. "You surprised me,"

Kagetsu smiled sheepishly, and scratched his head. "Gomen,"

Anna nodded her head in understanding and sat down on one of the green benches. Getting her lunch, she began to eat silently. Enjoying the silence of the roof top, both spirit and itako remained silent. Remembering that her brother's power spirit was still hovering nearby she stopped eating and eyed him quizzically. "Why are you here?"

Kagetsu once again grinned sheepishly, "Ah, I thought you might need company,"

Raising an eyebrow at the spirit's comment, the itako simply went back to finishing her meal. After several more minutes of utter silence between the two, Anna had already finished her lunch.

"You know..." murmured Anna, standing up and walking back to the railings. "...I wish we never did come here," she said, leaning on the railings and staring out into the horizon.

Kagetsu watched the itako with a worried expression. He was not quite sure on how to deal with the current situation that he was facing right now. After being dead so long, the spirit had no clue on how to deal with the emotions of humans. Though he still felt the pain that his mistress was going through. It hurt."..."

"I wish Onii-san was never accepted in Funbari College...I wish..." Anna's hand tightened around the green railings. "...I never see him again..." Her gaze switched to the certain Sakura tree, under which Horo Horo was laying knocked out by a screaming Tamao.

"You shouldn't say that about Yoh-san..." protested Kagetsu, a frown crossed his lips.

"I don't care..."

"You do care..."

"Iie, I don't!" Anna whirled around and glared at the power spirit. "I don't care for him because he didn't care for me! If he did, then he would have followed me three years ago! He would have realized that I cared for him. But he didn't realize that, he just understood that I was a simple tool of Kino-sensei's plans. Since he taught me how to let go of the past, I have let go of him...he is my past,"

The power spirit's grey eyes began to show his worry. "Anna-san..."

Anna turned back to the railings and ignored the spirit. Feeling a slight wetness growing in her eyes, she quickly closed them. Her throat felt dry and tight and her hands were trembling slightly. When she realized on what she said, it hurt even more to say it aloud than to think about it. Yoh did not care for her and she didn't care for him... 

_'I promised myself to not open my heart to anyone anymore after I left you Asakura Yoh. I learned that growing fond of something that I can't have only brings pain. Only seeing you makes me realize what pain I brought myself into. I promised myself to not care for you back then but I failed to keep that promise. But now, I will keep that promise. You belong to my past, I have let go of you,'_

Anna opened her eyes and found a solidary tear slide down her cheek. Cursing herself for having her emotions take the better of her, she wiped the blasted tear away. Feeling that somebody was watching her, she instictively looked down to the grounds. _'Yoh,'_

Black clashed with black.

It seemed like an eternity as both teens stared into each others eyes. She watched him as he gave her one of his laid back smiles and a wave his hand. _'...The promise...'_ she mused. And with a very heavy heart, of which she was unaware of, she sent him a glare and briskly turned around. Completely betraying her heart and ignoring the stabbing pain on the inside.

Down by the grounds, an utterly surprised Yoh stood rooted to the spot staring up at the now empty roof. A brief sign of pain flashed through his eyes, before forwning deeply. "Anna..." he whispered. With a heavy heart, he trugged back into the school building wondering what he did wrong to the one that caught his heart.

A few moments later, the school bell rang signaling the end of lunch and the start of the afternoon sessions. Behind one of the huge Sakura trees by the far end of the grounds, a figure stood underneath it. Securely hidden from view by the long casting shadow of the tree. The figure's lips curled into a smile as he stared up the empty roof top. "..."

~*~*~

Uhh...How was it? X_x...I know not the best yet...but I promise to do better...*raised hand* I do...^_^ So...was it a nice cliffhanger? ^______^ I hope so!

Again, I am just reminding you to review! I am open to ideas and suggestions! Flame me if you will...Makes me happy! ^____^ Thanks for reading! And Review!

Well, I am off to do once again a nice load of "Pain"-work...*cough*...Homework...(I think I need an advil...^_^;)...

Oh, and thank you to all that reviewed about the age thing for school. Since I got so many different ages...I just came up with the general thought of 17...Oh! And none of you got the ages of the other shamans then, I'll tell you. Yoh, Anna, Manta, Horo Horo are all 17 and Pirika, Tamao and Ren aree all 16...got that? ^____^ I hope you do!

Well, thanks for reading!

Ja ne!

Elisabeth


	4. Broken Promises

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Ai! Thank you so much for all those wonderful reviews! Thank you so much! I deeply apologize for the severe lateness of this chapter...but something went siriously wrong with my modem. *kicks modem* Really, really wrong. It won't dial! Eh! I am most likely at an internet cafe right now...the horror of no internet! Waa! I am still looking for ways of repairs...damn...This chapter would have been out last week...stupid computer! So, my deepest apologies!*bows*

Anyway, I have one good reason to be happy. *Grins* I saw Shaman King! Yes! _Sa wakas!_ After long weeks of nothing, I finally got to go home early from school and watch a good episode! Yey! I hope I can continue to watch Shaman King and be happy!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King. I just own the plot.

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    Chapter 4 _"Broken Promises"_

Soft footsteps resounded against the dull-grey floor of Funbari High as Anna briskly made her way out the school building. Mentally cursing every guy that even dared to stare at her, she finally stepped out the building and gratefully welcoming the fresh afternoon sun. Thanking the higher powers for having the day finally end, she began to descend the several brick steps of her school.

Ignoring the happy bustle of her fellow schoolmates, she headed towards the gates in hopes that her brother would be there to pick her up. _'If he is not yet there yet...he'll see heaven in no time at all...'_ she mused while passing by a group of freshmen. Sending a chilly glare towards a group of cat-calling boys, she stepped out of the gates of the compound and looked around the street.

_'He's not yet here...'_

Her grip on the handle of her book back tightened and she mentally cursed her brother's lack of time consciousness. Sighing very softly, Anna fought back the urge to just kill her brother when he would arrive. Leaning against the red brick wall, she blankly watched students pass by her.

Out of nowhere Kagetsu appeared, smiling softly at the young itako. Unfazed by the sudden appearance of the spirit, Anna merely stared down the street where her brother would be coming. "What do you want now?" she asked in an irritated tone.

The samurai spirit scratched his head sheepishly and floated next to the teen. "Ano...to keep you company..." he answered. "Master Touya has no sense of time..."

Anna gave the spirit a sidelong glance and frowned. "That's not the reason," she said, ignoring the sets of weird stares she received from her schoolmates that passed her by. "What are you looking at?" she snapped, sending a group of sophomores in hysterics. Knowing that they can't see the samurai spirit Kagetsu, they most likely thought she was talking to thin air...in other words, they thought she was crazy. She could care less.

Kagetsu sweatdropped at the sight of the retreating backs of the sophomores, "I think you scared them Anna-san,"

Anna sent her brother's spirit another sidelong glance, "You're avoiding the question..."

Kagetsu sweatdropped once more, _'So presistent...'_ he thought. Clearing his throat nervously, he stared down at the expectant itako and began to wonder how to answer her question without being sent to the next world. "You left your classroom in such a haste, why?"

The afternoon wind briefly passed by them, causing her hair to dance to the breeze and her skirt flutter slightly. It felt refreshing and nice that a pang of pain enveloped Anna's heart. It was times like these that she would remember Yoh...how she hated these times. On a bright sunny afternoon he would train under her strict supervision all the while wishing to just be free and lazily sleep under the shade of a tree and listen to his Bob music. Yet he never complained. Closing her eyes briefly at the memory, she willed herself to let it go. And she did.

"Because...because I don't like it there," she answered briskly, answering the spirit's question.

"But Yoh-san, he wanted..." began Kagetsu.

Anna frowned, her grip on her book bag tightened to a point were her knuckles turned white. Whirling around to face the spirit, she sent him one of her famous dark glares. "I don't care about Yoh anymore. How many times do I have to tell you that? How hard is it to get that passed your thick head of yours? He IS my past! I don't care what he wants or what he needs! He doesn't care...so I don't care!"

Kagetsu drifted several inches away from the itako as he felt her anger practically roll off her. Sighing softly after realizing that it was the end of the conversation about Yoh, he simply watched his mistress. Sensing her anger about the delicate subject about the certain Shaman king, he could clearly see his mistress had no intention what-so-ever to even talk to Yoh. "Gomen for bring the subject up..." he whispered in regret.

Anna nodded her head, "Of course," she mumbled. She lowered her head slightly, her hair partially covering her face. She wanted to take everything back what she said...but she didn't. She wouldn't...her heart was already closed for him...her heart was already bleeding.

"Anna!"

~Inside the school Campus~

"How can one just lose a classmate?" wondered Ren sarcastically, as the group of Shamans jogged down the hallway of Funbari High. "I mean, not just any classmate but THE itako herself! Gees...the world sure really is twisted..."

"Can it 'Pointy' boy...Yoh-kun just got a little distracted after class, that's all," snapped Horo Horo glaring down at the Chinese Shaman.

Manta sweatdropped at Horo Horo's comment. "Er, Horo-kun, how couldn't Yoh get distracted when you asked him to explain a math problem to you,"

Pirika blinked a couple of times, "Onii-chan asked Yoh-san to explain a math problem to him?" she asked incrediously. "The world is coming to an end..." she muttered under her breath.

Manta laughed slightly and stared up at Pirika, "Er, well...Yoh-kun had no clue what-so-ever about the math problem...so both ended up talking about food..."

Ren stumbled slightly upon hearing Manta and sent the sheepishly laughing Ainu a death glare. "So we are running down the hallway all because of you? This is what we get when a idiot asks another mentally challenged person about a math problem!"

Horo Horo laughed ruefully not quite understanding the insult. "Ah, well...you know what they say, fields of the same grass grow together!"

Manta lost his footing and fell face first onto the grey floor. "Ah, Horo-kun, I think it's 'Birds of the same feather, flock together'," he corrected while struggling to stand back up.

Yoh laughed slightly at Horo Horo's quote and turned around, all the while still jogging backwards towards the doors. "Ne, Horo Horo sure needs to listen more in English..."

Horo Horo grinned sheepishly, "Ano, at least everyone got the point, right?"

Tamao jogged closer to Pirika, "Eh, does that sickness run in the family?"

Pirika sweatdropped, "I think the genes stopped by him..."

Tamao nodded in agreement, quite reliefed for the fact that her friend did not inherit her brother's lack of brain. Smiling softly, she decided it was time for a change of subject. "Ne, what did Anna-san say to you guys?"

Yoh stopped running as they reached the doors and moved to open them. "Eh, I...we...didn't quite establish a conversation..."

Horo Horo inched closer to the pink haired girl, "What he's trying to say is that, he never even talked a word with her. She always disappears before any of us gets a chance to even blink."

Tamao nodded in understanding and followed Yoh down the brick steps, into the afternoon sun. She saw the excited expression cross Yoh's face as he hurried towards the main gates of the school, and she felt her own lips form into a frown. The thought of Anna crossed her mind and what she might want. _'Did she just come back and break Yoh-san's heart?...I won't allow it...'_ her small hands curled into fists as she watched Yoh's back. _'I wont allow her to hurt him again,'_

"So...where is she?" inquired Ren, as the group stood in the middle of the afternoon school bustle. "I for one don't see her..."

"Do you even think she would talk to us?" asked Manta, staring up at Yoh -who was busy Anna-searching. "She really didn't look like in the mood of talking...come to think of it, she didn't even talk to any of our classmates either..."

Yoh momentarily stopped scanning the mass of students and looked down at the midget. He smiled brightly, "Even if she does not want to talk to us, I am very happy to see her again. It really doesn't matter to me...as long as I can see her again, it brings me happiness once again." he said. Turning back to scan the mass of students, his eyes shook slightly with uncertain emotions. _'As long as I know she is withing my hearts reach, I am happy. Even though she may hate me now, even if she does not feel for me...I still feel for her. With all my heart...I have her back,'_

"This is hopeless," sighed Horo Horo. "How on earth are we gonna find a blonde girl, wearing the usual black skirt, black jacket and white blouse with black school shoes...that really narrows it down to 85% of the entire girls popu-" An excited squeal of Pirika made him stop in the middle of his talking. "Eh, what gives? What got your panties all bunched up? I was in the middle of a very sophisticated speech!" he sent his sister an indigniant glare.

Ignoring her brother's words, she beamed at Yoh and pointed at the front gates. "There she is!"

The mere word 'there', sent Yoh into a mad run towards the gates. With a huge grin, the young Shaman King dashed towards Pirika. _'Anna!'_

"A----", he was never given a chance to call out her name as somebody else took the opportunity.

"Anna!"

An older teen, with dark blonde hair, dressed in green pants and white school shirt with a matching green jacket with a University logo imprinted on it, came running up to the itako. Stumbling slightly when reaching the younger girl, he took his time to catch his breath.

"A--nna! Eh...gomen...got...held...up....professor...monster...homework...truck-load...I....gomen!" the teen sputtered, while catching his breath after every word. In simple terms, making no sense at all.

"Who's he?" asked Horo Horo, staring at the heavily breathing older teen. Turning to Yoh for answers, he only found the young Shaman King silently staring at the scenario before them.

Anna turned around briskly when she heard the familiar voice of Horo Horo from behind her. She felt her heart drop into her stomach.

Once again, Black clashed with Black.

Feeling her heart get involuntarily constricted, and her throat all of the sudden dry and tight. She simply stared into the coal black eyes of Yoh. Momentarily forgetting her brother and her death treath for him, she found herself totally transfixed with the young Shaman King. It felt so much different to see him up close, only a few feet from herself. _'Yoh...'_

Yoh smiled softly and raised his hand in greeting. Feeling his heart ready to burst with joy, _'Anna...'_. Given the opportunity to simply just stare at her and know that she was there in front of him gave him all the satisfaction in the world. The final part of him finally clicked into place...he felt whole again. Then again...only partially...for some reasons he was not sure of. _'Does she even feel the same way?'_ he mused. Feeling his stomach lurch at the dark thought, he let his hand drop when he saw her blank expression. _'No matter...I am still happy...ne, Anna is back,'_.

Anna tore her eyes away from Yoh and his group of friends. Somehow she felt hurt of doing so...she didn't care at all. Her eyes turned into an icy glare when she remembered one minor detail. _'They don't care...'_

"What do you want?" her question was simple, yet so harsh to the ear.

"Anna-san," began Tamao, inching forward slightly. "It's good to see you back..."

Yoh nodded in agreement and stood next to the pink haired girl. Smiling brightly at the scowling itako, he added. "Tamao-chan is right, it's good to have you back!", His smile widened as he softly smiled down at Tamao before turning back to Anna and smiling once again.

Her gaze settled to the blushing Tamao before sending a chilly glare to the group. Not even giving Yoh another glance, she briskly turned around and grabbed her brother by the wrist. "Let's go..."

Touya nodded and allowed his sister to drag him down the street. Turning his head slightly, he caught sight of a very disappointed Yoh and the rest of the group being very shocked for some strange unknown reason. His black eyes settled on the disappointed Shaman King, _'Asakura Yoh...what on earth have you done with my sister?'_

"Well, that scratched out the idea of her being nice and friendly," commented Ren, watching Anna and the older guy walk down the street.

Horo Horo's eyes were wide as saucers and shook in pure horror. Clutching the nearby wall for support, he took in a very dramatic breath, "She touched the guy!"

The sound of Pirika's fist connecting with her brother's thick skull echoed throughout the whole campus. There was a momentary silence as birds evicted the nearby trees.

"Will you shut up?!" snapped Pirika, glaring down at the crumpled form of her brother. Giving him a nice kick, she quickly added. "I can't believe I'm even related to you!"

"Eh, she really didn't look too thrilled to see us," said Manta thoughtfully, purposely ignoring Horo's howling cries of pain.

Yoh shrugged and turned around, ready to walk off home. "At least she's back. That's all I am thankful of,"

Tamao watched Yoh's back sadly as the group began slowly to wander home to the Asakura residence. _'He may no show it, but his heart is bleeding on the inside...Yoh-san, what have you brought yourself into?'_ Her eyes shock with worry as she watched Yoh laugh at something the Ainu boy had said. Sighing softly, the pink haired girl shook her head. _'Either one of them will get hurt, that is for sure...'_

~

"So," breathed Touya, swinging his book bag from side to side as he and Anna entered the city park. "How was your first day?"

_'He just gave her such a caring smile. Like the ones he used to give me before...wait a minute! Why the hell do I even care about this? Did I actually even notice those small gestures? Damn...damn to myself...'_The wind touseled the young itako's hair as she silently watched the Sakura blossoms drift to the ground.

Touya rolled his eyes at the non-responsiveness of his sister. Breathing in deeply, he began to talk again...to himself generally. "Oh, well. My day was just peachy...why you ask...well, my professor was just a monster..."

_'He seemed happy though, especially when he smiled down at her.'_ Pushing some stray strands of blonde hair behind her ear, Anna continued to ignore her brother. Purposely.

_'It just shows you that he doesn't care much...'_ said a forgein voice into her mind.

_'Yes, if he would have cared for you over all those years, then he would have been a lot more happier to see me. Like maybe actually approach me...'_ Pain flashed briefly in the itako's eyes as more painful thoughts raced through her head.

_'Three years you were gone and he completely forgot you. He's treating you like a new person.'_ said the foreing voice once more. _'It just means that...'_

_'He never really cared to begin with.'_ For some unknown reason, Anna felt her heart silently cry in pain at the whole prospect. _'Yoh never really cared...'_ Closing her black eyes, she silently cursed herself for being so affected with the thought.

"...and Economics was a real killer, and...Anna?" Touya stopped talking when he noticed his sister's presence no longer next to him. Turning around, he found her standing by the railings of the lake with her head slightly bowed. "Tou-chan?"

"Why didn't you come earlier?"

Touya scratched his head and eyed his sister with a confused look. Approaching her, he laughed softly, "Eh, I told you...I got held up at College."

Anna nodded her head, placing her head into her hands on the railing, she blankly eyed the calm lake. "If you came earlier, then I wouldn't be in this trouble," she said. "It's all your fault,"

_'If you just picked me up earlier Onii-san, then I wouldn't have seen Yoh.'_

Touya cocked his head and eyed his sister, "Trouble?" he repeated. Remembering what Kagetsu had told him, his eyes widened slightly. "Oh, you mean you and Yoh-kun,"

"He doesn't care at all," muttered Anna. "I am sure he just saw me as the trainer that his grandmother sent him,"

Touya shurgged his shoulders and leaned forward on the railings. Closing his eyes, a calm expression crossed his face. "You know, Love is such a weird thing..."

Anna stared at her silent brother blankly. Processing what Touya had said, her eyes widened slightly, she felt her stomach drop considerably. _'I don't...I can't...I...I...I am not in love with him...no...it can't be...damn,'_ Turning back to the lake, her face grew solemn. Now she understood why it felt so difficult to be around Yoh, why she felt so different around the boy. Why she felt...whole with the boy. Closing her eyes, she felt her heart break at the whole thought of it. _'I will stop...'_

Her whole promise, her whole determination of not caring...broke into pieces. The simple promise she made of not falling in love, of not allowing to have her emotions get the best of her...failed. She failed. Failed...failed...Now she understood, now she she knew. She must put a stop to it, in order to keep up with the promise. To not fall in love with him...to let him go.

_'Let go...'_ the voice sounded like a hushed whisper in the wind. _'Go...'_

"Anna?" said Touya, turning to his sister. He was taken back by the sight of the pain that flickered in the younger girl's eyes. _'What's going on with her?'_ Worry appeared on his face, as he placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. "You alright?"

She wanted to cry desperately. If only she could cry. It so painful to let something one has realized go...she loved him...yet she must let go. She WILL let go. She must...she will..._'It hurt...'_ Sighing mentally, she shrugged off her brother's hand and turned around. Ignoring the pulsing pain in her heart, she briskly made her way homewards. Hoping that the pain would eventually wear off. Hope, that's all there was.

Sighing loudly, Touya eyed the back of his sister. _'If you keep denying everything, you may end up with a disaster Imotou,'_ he mused. Shaking his head sadly, he quickly made his was to catch up with her.

~

_'He must be more than happy when he realized I was gone,'_

_'Jerk'_

_'I was no longer there to make his life a living hell...he must have been overjoyed.'_

_'Jerk'_

_'He didn't care...'_

_'Jerk'_

She continued to place the bad thoughts about Yoh into her mind. One after another, putting heart breaking thoughts into her head. In plain hopes to just forget about him and let him go. The task was simple, yet so hard to accomplish. She must keep up with her promise. Not to open her heart to him... to close it, just for him.

"If your brother would think as much as you, he'd be a scholar by now," commented the old Kyouyama Hosho as he slowly sat down on the floor of their old Japanese home and placed a cup of steaming green tea infront of the girl.

Anna looked up from her staring at her lap and eyed her grandfather blankly. "What?"

Hosho shook his head, "I was just talking about the moon and the stars,"

Narrowing her eyes, Anna raised a delicate eyebrow. "No you weren't, you were talking about Onii-san's lack of intelligence," she said. An indignant shout came from the kitchen, coming from none other than Touya himself.

Hosho chuckled, "Ah, I can see you were paying attention,"

"Of course I am,"

Hosho simply nodded and began to drink from his own tea. "Are you so sure?" he asked, his eyes were closed while inhaling some of the warm scents of the tea.

"Very,"

"Then why are you ignoring your heart?"

Anna carefully placed her own cup of tea back onto the table. Staring at the silent elder in slight confusion, her expression remained as blank as possible. "I don't know what you mean,"

Hosho chuckled, "From the day I have seen you three years ago, I felt your heart heavy and troubled. For three long years, the trouble in your heart remained as it cried out to you. Now I can feel it bleeding...why can't you answer it's call?"

Anna's eyed turned hard and a determined expression crossed her face. "I don't want to fail,"

Hosho sighed softly, and placed the tea cup onto the table. "Means failure that much to you?" he asked. "Does it meant that you have to give up everything, to ignore the cries of pain of your heart? Does that mean going through such pains in order to avoid failure? Does keeping such promise of yours mean so much to you?"

"Yes"

The old man shook his head in disbelief. "Continue that way child, and it will cause you your downfall,"

Anna looked up and stared at her grandfather directly in the eyes. "That's a risk I am willing to take,"

"What did I miss?" asked Touya curiously, as he entered the dining room carrying his own cup of tea. Sitting down next to his sister, he stared between the two silent parties.

"Nothing," muttered Anna, looking down onto her lap.

Hosho chuckled softly, "It was about something nothing of importance," He said. He watched as Kagetsu glidded into the room, an intruiged expression crossed his face. "Though there is something I wish to ask the two of you,"

"Hai?"

"About the fight last night," began Hosho. "Do you know who you battled with?"

Kagetsu shook his head in dismay. "Iie, it was impossible for us to tell. The Shaman had his face covered in the white cloth,"

Anna stared at her grandfather with a cool expression, "I felt him all the way here," she said. "His aura felt so different, yet quite familiar at the same time. It was all so overwhelming,"

Hosho nodded, "He must have been powerful if he could overpower the Shaman King himself." he said thoughtfully. After taking a long drink from his tea, he placed the cup back down. "Darkness is coming,"

Anna looked out the window as silence fell onto the group. The feeling of something being silghtly different could not be ignored. Something, or somebody is bound to cause some trouble again. Danger is lurking somewhere again. And only the Shaman King can prevent it.

'Yoh...be careful,'

~*~*~

*sigh* I deeply apologize if this chapter didn't go so well. I am still a bit angry about my modem. Still need to fix the damn thing. I can't believe I'm at an internet cafe! Argh!

Thank you so much for reading! This chapter would have been much longer, with an appearance of *Cough* I wont tell you *cough*...but I reached notepads stupid character limit...whatever that is...damn!

Well! I am off to do homework...thank's for reading! Remember to review! I'm open to ideas and suggestions! REVIEW! ^_____^

Ja Ne!

Elisabeth


	5. Sheer Confusion

~*~*~

*falls over* I can't believe I didn't update for so long...*winces* Ne, gomen for the long delay. I was kinda busy. Busy with my stupid life, my stupid classmates, the insults, college hunting and the works...goment nasai. I want to thank everybody who reviewed and for the tinsy bit of Japanese lesson you guys gave me...^_^ I'll keep those things in mind. ^_^;

Thank you for all the support you guys gave me. I do try update more frequently once my 4th finals are over. (Which would be probably in late Febuary or early march). Ne, I hope you guys will like this chapter. Took me long enough to do this...*_sweat drops_*

~*~*~

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King. I just own the plot. And Touya. *grins*

~*~*~
    
    Chapter 4 _"Sheer Confusion"_

  


"It was nice to see him in pain and lost. To see him hurt and fallen. And now that his light has returned, the real fun can begin," murmured a dark figure while staring into the dancing flames before him. The face of Asakura Yoh materialized. "Now is the time little brother for you to feel the real pain,"

"Hao-sama," came a new voice from behind him. "I brought you new spirits,"

A bright smile appeared on his lips, as he watched his servant present a purple urn. "Thank you Kamichi, I see you finally succeeded,"

Pulling down the white cloth from around his face, Kamichi bowed in respect. "Last night was not my night Hao-sama. My deepest apologies for my failure,"

Hao smiled brightly and nodded his head, "I know my little brother can be quite pesky," His smile faltered however at the thought of the other Shaman who saved his brother and friends. "Though, I find Anna-san's brother quite a nuisance,"

Kamichi bowed his head slightly, allowing his blue hair to cover partially his face. "He was quite powerful," he muttered, his white gloved hand tightened around the urn.

"I think it's time for you to feed the spirits to the Great Spirit of Fire, I think he's getting a little restless now after 3 years of no use," said Hao, gesturing to his flaming power spirit behind him.

Hao's lips once again curled into a smile while he watched Kamichi remove the lid of the urn, releasing the imprisoned spirits and allowing the Fire spirit to ruthlessly devour them. "I am quite sure that Yoh will be quite a suitable opponent now, now that his precious Itako has returned. After three long years of waiting, he will finally return to the level of my fighting,"

Turning back to the dancing flames, "But first, my first move shall be...to take what's most precious to him."

The face of Kyouyama Anna appeared in the flames.

"Let the games...begin,"

~

"Make it 550 push ups,"

A loud wail, semi-groan, came from Touya as he staggered on the ground in his sit up position. Inclining his head ever so painfully, he stared at his sister with a distraught look. "200 more?"

"Hai," came the simple reply of his sister as she intentionally made herself heavier on his back. Grabbing a rice cake, she '_unintentionally_' kicked him in the sides. "Hurry,"

"But..."

Touya's pleas were cut short as another perfectly angled kick hit his side.

"Quit complaining!"

Mentally crying in pain, Touya continued his daily exercise.

"Anna? Touya?"

Hosho's head popped out of the temple's backdoor. Gazing out the backyard, he eyed the two teens with a annoyed look. "Which of you did I assign to buy groceries?"

"Him"

"Her"

Imediately fingers were pointing everywhere. Touya being in the backbreaking position that he was in, now stood on all three while staggering to point a finger at his sister. Whilst Anna, icily glaring at her brother sharply pointed an accusing finger back at him. It didn't take a minute before Touya completely collapsed from Anna's weight or the accumulated rice cakes she purposely ate.

Wondering why the gods blessed him with such 'unexplainable' grandchildren, Hosho sighed audibly. Pressing an aged hand on his forehead, "I don't care which of you I assigned to buy groceries," he said. "But at least it must have come to your attention that we are nearing a month of our stay here in Funbari, and none of you have bothered to buy groceries. Now unless either of you want to eat stale bread and fishguts, be my guest but, I think it's time to buy groceries. _Now_."

And with that the discussion ended, his old bald head disappeared into the depths of the old buddhist temple.

There was a moment of silence before Touya shuddered under Anna, "Fishguts...ewww!"

Anna once again kicked him hard that sent him skidding across the backyard grounds for several feet. "Fool, go buy the groceries,"

"I'm tired," whined Touya, sulking over and rubbing his aching sides. Plopping down on the ground next to his sister, he cracked his bones. "Soooo tired,"

"Are you telling me to buy the groceries?!" A vein popped on Anna's forehead.

"Please tou-chan?"

"Are you telling me to buy the groceries?!" her voice rose several octaves, and an icy glare was sent to the brother.

The oblivious brother sighed loudly and leaned against the Sakura tree. "Well, yeah. Since it was **you** who Ojiisan told to buy the groceries."

It wasn't minutes later before a hard bonk on the head resounded throughout the backyard.

"Tou-chan!" wailed Touya, as another painful injury was added to his inpained body. With all the training he went through, he still wondered how Yoh ever survived his sister's killer training regimen.

"You go!"

"No, **you** go!"

The sibling arguement lasted approximately 5 minutes before Kagetsu finally materialized with two straws in his hand. "I got an idea Anna-san, Touya-san,"

Anna was in mid-throttle pose when the spirit materialized. A deathly glare was sent to the spirit as she realized her plan to throttle her brother was foiled. "This better be good,"

Kagetsu sweatdropped and floated several inches away from the itako. "Well...it goes like this..."

~

"Price check on 'Paw-paw, all for nothing Tuna special'. I repeat, price check on 'Paw-paw, all for nothing Tuna special',"

A vein popped up on Anna's forehead as the clerk boomed his message across the PA for the 4th time that day. Scowling darkly at the shelf of refrigerated produce, she grabbed several heads of cabbage.

Apparently she had lost Kagetsu's '_brilliant_' plan to settle the feud between her and Touya. Apparently one had to pick the **short** straw inorder to win and not the _long_ one. That was something he conveniently failed to mention.

'_I swear, that stupid spirit must have planned it with Oni-san,'_ Anna thought darkly, while pushing the cart down the aisle of fish. _'When I get home...'_

With an angry huff, the itako sharply turned her now full cart and wheeled towards the cashier. Swiftly wheeling towards an empty cashier recepticle, she emptied her groceries and waited for the clerk to add up everything. Growing impatient, she turned to look out the window and frowned. It looked as it was about to rain. Just her luck.

Glaring at the clerk to hurry up, she fished through her pockets to find the money her ojiisan had given her. Handing it to the cashier when he was finally done tagging all items.

"I think Ryu wanted Miracle Fishballs not _Tender_ Fishballs, Tamao-chan,"

Anna grew stiff as she heard an all too familiar voice drift through the convenience store.

A soft giggle followed Yoh's comment, "Yoh-kun, fishballs are all made the same!"

"But Ryu insisted!"

Anna saw the two pass her unnoticed. She saw them out of the corner of her eyes. She saw them together again, for numerous times already. Yoh and Tamao. With an all pained sigh, she grabbed her groceries and turned to leave. With one last look behind her, she saw Tamao's pink cotton candy hair behind an aisle and heard her faintly giggle at Yoh's muffled voice. 

Feeling slightly irritated somehow, she slipped out of the store with a heavy heart.

  
  


The can of tuna was returned to the shelf as the glidding doors of the store slid closed with a soft thud. Yoh looked up as a hint of blonde hair passed his view. Frowning, he looked up from the tuna and popped his head out of the aisle. His brows furrowed in confusion.

"Something wrong?" asked Tamao, looking up at Yoh in slight worry.

'_Anna?'_ His mind asked himself trying to register of what he saw. Shaking his head sadly, he turned back to Tamao. _'It must have been my imagination,'_ Smiling slightly at the pink haired girl, he shook his head once more. "Nothing,"

Taking it as a good enough excuse, Tamao nodded and wheeled their cart out of the aisle and up to the next not bothering to wait for Yoh.

~

"You forgot the eggs,"

"What?!" a look that looked oddly of a cross of disbelief and irritation flashed across Anna's face. "I what?!"

"You forgot the eggs," repeated Hosho,staring across the sleek kitchen counter. "Go get them,"

Anna could faintly see her brother snickering behind their grandfather's back. A vein popped on her forehead but she remained quiet. One thing she had learned was to pay respect to her elders...her brother would always be an exception to that however. Sighing almost audibly, she nodded her head. "Hai,"

Hosho smiled in satisfaction, "Hurry back,"

Nodding her head, she slipped out of the kitchen without much of an arguement.

Wheeling around, Hosho glared at the snickering shaman. "You..." he said. Touya immediately stopped snickering. "Start dinner,"

~

Cursing under her breath, the blonde itako hurried down the streets. She suddenly had a great distaste in reentering the store. She scowled when a harsh gust of wind came her way. Out of her hurry, she forgot to bring along her coat or an umbrella. Looking up, she could sense the impending rain. Her scowl only deepened.

Looking down on the receipt from earlier she clearly had bought eggs, the clerk must've forgotten to place them in her bag. _'Good help these days is so hard to find...'_ she mused.

Her thoughts quickly ended up of remembering Yoh. With a soft frown, she couldn't help but not ignore the different feeling she felt whenever she remembered the boy. But she promised herself not to...there must be something wrong with her. Shaking her head, she sighed loudly. Aside from the usual 'Hellos' and dark glares she sent him, she really never acknowledged his exsistence. Scowling softly at her own light-headedness, she opened the door and rushed in the shop. She suddenly was torn in between having her heart a skip a beat or scowl like there was no tomorrow...

"Are you sure this thing wont expire until next week?" asked Tamao, her voice ringing in Anna's ears like harsh bells. The pink haired girl held up a packet of wheat, looking at it quizzically before turning to the clerk. Behind her Yoh looked rather sheepish, at the long line she was holding up.

"Ano Tamao---"

"Don't you know how important it is to know these things?!" snapped Tamao, whirling around to face Yoh while letting the clerk fuss around the packet of wheat. "I don't want to get food poisoning, nor want I you to get it!"

Yoh laughed and held up his hands in defence, "Hai, hai!"

Anna scowled lightly, sensing the subtle display of affection the couple was displaying. '_That could've been you..._' came a soft voice in her head. '_Shut up, that is not me..._' she snapped, glaring holes at the queue that had been formed. "For the love of kami..." muttered the blonde, peeved beyond her wits as the line did not even budge.

There was only one thing to do, get up there. So she had to face Yoh again, what's the big deal anyway? Pretty much big...

"Do these lettuce look anywhere _near_ rotten?" inquired Tamao, holding up a bulb of lettuce into the clerk's face.

"Well, I----"

"Would you mind hurrying it up there?!" came a rather snappish voice from behind Yoh and Tamao. The faint sound of a foot tapping against the sleek tile floor could be heard.

"Mind your own----" Tamao was ready to give her piece of mind to the 5th person that tried to butt in her shopping and stuff the lettuce into the persons mouth. She had every right to be food conscious and be aware of rotten food. However, she never really got a chance to even share her piece of mind. And the lettuce wasn't anywhere near her hand anymore. It had been long gone rolling around the floor.

"----Anna-san," it sounded more of a surprised exclaimation than an acknowledgement. Tamao looked literarly like a fish out of water, mouth gaping at the scowling Itako.

"Anna," breathed Yoh, taking in a rather sharp in take of air. He stared at the blonde with mixed emotions. First of all he felt suddenlly uberly happy to see her. It was a rare sight to even see the blonde aside from school, yet alone get into a close proximity with her at this rate. Second, she was scowling which just meant all hell was going to break lose if they didn't hurry up....and that made him feel really scared. He learned that, the hard way. And lastly he felt the pain he had long gone forgotten. She wasn't his fiancé anymore, and it only painfully reminded him more when he saw her.

"I want my eggs," snapped Anna, after a defening minute of silence that feel on the trio. Her ebony eyes fell on the clerk, eyes set in an intensive glare. "_Now_" She slammed the receipt of earlier on the counter as emphasis.

Tamao was on the verge of protests. How dare the Ice Queen to even butt in her shopping, yet alone act 'all, high and mighty' in front of them. Anger bubbled inside of her, as she watched the Itako wait for her eggs. She knew that Yoh-kun only was pained at the sight of the blonde and she had promised herself to stop the pain. Yet somehow she couldn't...

"Here you are," the clerk quivered slightly at the scowl he reveived from the blonde. If not the tray had been securely closed, 12 pearly white eggs would have fallen out of the tray due to his shaking hand. "Gomen nasai for the inconvenience,"

Anna only scowled in response, snatching the tray out of his hands and hugging it to her chest. With a flourish of her hair, she whirled around and started to march away.

  


"_Anna_", he sounded so needing. His voice hung heavy in the air like a blanket of sorrow. She could feel him...

The blonde stopped, hugging the gray tray of eggs tighter to her chest. She didn't want to break now, not now. She had worked so hard to even build up that high wall around her. Not in the _damn grocery store_. She inclined her head slightly and caught his eyes. They connected.

He looked lost, she knew it. She could mentally see her wall slowly crumbling from the top. His eyes looked lost and questions loomed in their black depths. She mentally found herself falling into them.

_'Iie'_

Yoh never knew what happened next. First he was keeping steedy eye contact with the distant Itako and then he just saw the back of her head. He watched her march out the store with a heavy heart. He saw something in her eyes. Something he wasn't sure of himself. _Denial_...

~

Thunder boomed across the sky as Anna ran down the street. She couldn't believe she had done that. She couldn't believe she had actually felt _something_ for Yoh again. After all the days of practicing of hating him. She fell for him, just for a second. A moment. Clutching the tray of eggs to her chest tighter, her eyes shone with confusion.

People started to slowly thin out as angry clouds rolled over the city. A brightflash of light painted the sky before clashing with thunder. The itako did not even wince when the thunder sounded so close.

Anna stopped, her heart beating furiously against her chest. Confusion, denial and pain evident in her eyes as she tried to calm her breathing. She never realized she had ran so fast. She desperately wanted to evaporate at the moment. For no given reason at all, it seemed as the most logical thing to do right now. Evaporate, to escape everything.

Leaning against the brick wall, her eyes glimmered in pain. For some given reason, she felt so alone. Why, she never knew. But the mere sight of Tamao and Yoh at the store made her insides churn. Lowering her gaze, she couldn't believe she was thinking this way. _'Why...'_ her eyes glimmered in confussion.

Before she could even react, a thick blanket of rain fell upon her. Thunder and lightning boomed across her as the rain pounded harshly against her small frame. She didn't flinch.

Her black dress clung to her small form and her drenched blonde hair was pressed harshly against her face. She loved the rain. She loved this weather. Nothing, name nothing, of this gloomy weather could be compared to Yoh. _Nothing_. 

_'Why are you doing this to me Asakura Yoh? What have you done to me?'_ Her hands tightened around the tray. _'Why can't I ignore you.'_

With an aching heart and confused soul, the Itako slowly peeled herself off the wall and made her way down the cold road. Her vision slightly blurry due to the pounding rain. Nobody was left on the road...which seemde quite odd.

Walking down the road slowly, she savored the rain. Enjoying its steady beatings on her body. She knew she would get sick after this, at least this way she would stay at home and away from school. And even further away from Yoh. She felt something inside of her drop at that thought, but she ignored it. Like nearly everything else she did.

Everything was eerie quiet. Aside from the loud thundering and beating of rain, everything seemed unusually quiet. Something was off, she knew it, even if she was lost in her own thoughts.

Forgetting Yoh and everything else, she stopped. She narrowed her eyes and tried to look around. Which was sorta difficult to do with the thick blanket of rain around her. Her senses picked something up...something very familiar.

She saw it. The silhouette perched on top of the wall. Her vision just became obscured as she tried harder to make out something. All she saw was white...

Her right hand instictively went to her neck, grabbing her Itako beads...  
  
...they were not there...

Anna mentally cursed at her luck, she had forgotten them at home. Narrowing her eyes, she picked up the shamanic aura around the silhouette. The _very_ familiar aura...

"Who goes there?!"

A low chuckle rang throughout the area, as thunder boomed loudly and lightning flashed across the sky. "Hello Kyouyama-san,"

_'The Shaman...'_ Her eyes widdened as lightning illuminated the area as it sruck a nearby tree. She dropped her eggs as she starred disbelievingly at the Shaman that her brother fought weeks ago.

~

Hosho stood safely under the porch, starring gloomily out the gates. Hoping his granddaughter would soon materialize through the rain. A strong sense of foreboding hung in the air. No spirits were around, no sound could be heard and the rain was deafening.

"Something is wrong," whispered the old man, as Touya appeared beside him with Kagetsu. "Go find her,"

Touya nodded his head in determination, slight worry written across his face for his Imotou. Jumping off the porch, he ran into the rain, following his intincts. Kagetsu quickly disappeared, surely following his master.

"Be careful,"

~

"Perhaps we should just wait the rain out," muttered Tamao, looking out the store window. She visibly winced as thunder boomed across the sky.

Yoh smiled down at the pink haired girl, "Hai we should. It looks rough out there,"

Tamao turned to Yoh and stared at him, confusion written across her face. He looked hurt, sort of pleased as well. She really didn't understand him. Her eyes clouded over with sadness, _'Why can Anna do that to him. Make him feel hurt and happy the same time? What does he see in her? Hasn't he learned?'_ she mused, worry written all over her face. Lightning flashed outside followed by thunderous booms. _'He can't have her, yet he tries. Why can't you let go Yoh-kun?'_

Yoh looked up sharply as another thunderous boom rang throughout Funbari. Something was not right. He narrowed his eyes sharply as he watched lightning crash down on earth and hit a tree. His eyes widened, foreboding looming in his eyes.

He only uttered one word, as he starred out into the dark depths of the rain.

"**Anna**"

And he was gone.

~

*Sigh* I can't believe I stopped it there...*sweat drop* It was about to get exciting. *grins*

Again I would like to apologize for the entire lateness of this thing...gomen. Ne, at least you guys now know who *cough* is. Lol. I'll try to update soon...how I will do that is weird...I got 8 (I think...I don't know actually) other stories to update...weee...

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review to make a happy little author. ^_^

Ja Ne!

Elisabeth


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